Insulating panel for building walls



July 9, 1940. GIE. BRIERLY 2,207,454

INSULATING PANEL FOR BUILDING WALLS Filed April 28, 1958 l5 s E .5. 7 3-ATTORNEY.

Patented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT .OFFlCE 4 Claims.

blocks for the interior or the exterior faces of building walls, and theprincipal object is to provide a block formed of an inexpensive metalliccontainer and an insulating element secured therein which may be held incourses as with various building blocks or brick, or in the manner oftile on an interior wall surface, in either of which the metallic casingis exposed to view.

It is further an object and feature of the invention to provide ametallic casing of a rectangular form having side walls and a bottom,the 0pposite face being open to receive an insulating member which maybe secured therein in any approved manner as by cementing the same inplace or by forming the casing subsequent to the placement of theinsulating material in a manner to secure the same therein.

It is further a feature and object of the invention to provide aninsulating block or tile such as above described in which the side wallsof the metallic container are provided with projections to align withsimilar projections of the adjacent block or tile and thus providing auniform space between adjacent blocks for a plastic or cementitiousmaterial and in which arrangement the projections are so positioned thata block will readily be erected in association with a half size blockand a quarter size block with the projections of the major size blockfitting the projections on the blocks of the other faces.

These and various other objects and novel features of the invention arehereinafter more fully described and claimed, and the preferred form of.a block or tile embodying my invention isshown in the accompanyingdrawing in which- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the outer face of a block ortile in association with a second block or tile, the drawing beingpartly broken away to show the inner insulating element.

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion of the block showing the oppositeface from that shown in Fig. i.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail showing one form of a projecting lug.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing another form of projecting lug.

Fig. '7 is a section taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an elevationshowing various sizes of the blocks that may be laid with theprojections of each of the blocks aligning with and engaging similarprojections of other blocks.

This invention relates to insulating panels or Fig. 9 is a perspectiveView showing my improved block or tile applied directly to the sheathmgof a wall element.

The block may be made of various sizes and of various thlcknesses but,due to the insulating character of the block, need not be very thickfrom face to face andmay be quite thin where uselcll as a t1le formounting on the interior of a wa In its preferred form, the blockconsists of a 10 rectangular metal shell as indicated at I and thereshown as square in form. As will be observed from Fig. 2 particularly,the shell i has a metal bottom 2 and side walls 3 and an open faceopposite the wall 2. In this pan-like form of shell is board. Theinsulating member 4 is secured in the shell and may be secured inseveral ways as for instance, by coating the inner face of the shell and/or the edges and one face of the insulating element with pitch whichbecomes subsequently very hard and the manner block or panel to a wallis preferably by means of cement applied to the outer exposed face ofthe msulator member 4 as is indicated at 5 in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive.The insulating element may also be secured in place as 8 or portions ofthe edge of the side walls of the shell I over the peripheral edge ofthe insulating member as shown in Figs. 5 and 7. For securing the panelor block in position, a cementitious material may be applied to theexposed face of the 35 insulating element in any approved manner wherebythe same may be secured to a surface, as for instance the sheathing I ofthe wall,'shown in Fig. 2.

A feature of the invention is involved in the 40 provision of theoutstanding lugs about the periphery of the shell. These lugs may bepressed out in forming the shell as is indicated in Figs. 1 and 5 or maybe provided, as indicated at M,

by means of a metal lug secured, as by welding, to 45 mitted to agrinding operation to true the outer 50 faces of the lug and to providea block of a definite overall size which wouldbe a standard size ormultiples or divisions of a standard size so that the blocks, when laid,are spaced accurately to provide uniform interstices between the blocks5 of attachment of the by inturning an edge 30 and thus do not requireodd sizes of blocks in the formation of a wall other than the requiredmultiplcs or divisions of the block. This will be more fully understoodfrom Figs. 8 where is shown a major size block at H having the lugs 9,ID or other form so spaced about the periphery as to match lugs ofblocks of a half size indicated at l2 and a quarter size as indicated atI3, I3. It will be observed from this view that, by properly spacing thelugs on a major size block and on the divisional sizes, the lugs ofseveral adjacent sizes of the blocks align with the lugs of therespective lugs of contiguous blocks or panels. Thus, by forming theshell with its projecting lugs accurately surfaced to provide an overalllength and width of block, a wall may be uniformly laid to fit anylength or height of wall surface that is a multiple of the major blocksize.

The lugs have three functions-namely, to determine the overalldimension; to space the blocks or panels a predetermined distance apartto provide for a uniform spacing of the blocks in which a plastic orcementitious material may be forced, and to sustain such plastic fromsagging, particularly in vertical interstices between blocks whichsometimes under a hot sun may tend to soften and sag.

As previously stated, the faces of the lugs are to be ground to providea block of a standard overall size and inv divisions or multiples of oneof the sizes. For the best results, the faces of the lugs are to beground to a true plane surface, the lugs on one side edge being at aright angle to the adjacent side edges and parallel with the planesurfaces of the opposite parallel side of the blocln This insures notonly the proper spacing of the laid blocks but tends to position theseries of blocks with their faces in substantially the same plane or sonearly so as not to be readily observed. An essential characteristic ofthe invention is therefore involved in thus providing the spaced lugswhich, in contiguous blocks, are in surface contact to thereby effect atrue parallelism of the surfaces of the outer faces of the panels orblocks and any inaccuracies in the wall surface to which they are to beapplied may be compensated for by the use of an adhesive in greater. orless quantity on the inner faces of the panels.

The blocks or panels are applied to a wall surface by placing asufficient amount of cementitious material at various points on thesurface of the insulating element sufficient to securely hold the panelor tile in place on asupporting surface as, for instance, the sheathingI of Fig. 9.

The outer face of the metal panel may be embossed if desired, asindicated at M in Fig. 8 which is illustrative only of one form ofembossing, it being understood thatvarious designs may be provided byembossing the sheet metal, and it is to be observed that it is the metalsurface that is exposed to atmosphere, either of a room or outsideatmosphereand the metal of which the shell is made may be of any desiredcomposition or character as, for instance, stainless steel, copper,brass orother composition and even may be treated to provide a coloreffect The drawing has shown the device as beingof rectangular form and,this is the usual form but in all wall surfaceswhere the block may beapplied, there are portions of such surface other than rectangular, andit is to be understood that changes in form of the block to fit aparticular area are within the spirit and scope of this invention, afeature of which is in the provision" of lugs on peripheral wall of theblock to engage lugs of an adjacent block.

From the foregoing description, it is believed evident that the variousobjects and features of the invention are attained by the structuredescribed; that the block is of an inexpensive character, being formedof very light gauge metal which becomes a retainer for an insulatingelement but serves to protect such element from weather conditions andmay furnish either a dull or a bright surface as may be desired invarious types of structures and for various locations on the interiorwalls of a building, and it is also to be understood that variouschanges may be made in the form of the structure (which may be otherthan rectangular as shown) without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, its

utility and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States is v 1. An insulating block for thesurfacing of building walls comprising a sheet metal shell ofrectangular form having peripheral walls at a right angle to the sheetand providing a shell open on one side, a preformed insulating elementsecured in the shell, the thickness of which is approximately equal tothe depth of the peripheral walls, an adhesive material applied to theexposed face of the insulating element for securing the block on a walland means formed integrally with the side walls for spacing laid blocksin a predetermined spaced relation providing an interstice forcementitious material.

2. An insulating block for the surfacing of building walls comprising asheet metal shell having a rectangular base, the edges thereof beingintiu'ned to provide side walls, the said side walls having portionsthereof struck outwardly to provide spacing lugs to maintain laid blocksin a predetermined spaced relation to provide for a cementitious filler,and a preformed insulating element of peripheral form corresponding tothe shell and fitting within the side walls, the thickness of theinsulating block being substantially equal to the interior depth of theside walls, and an adhesive material on the exposed face of theinsulating element for securing this block on a wall 3. A series ofinsulating blocks for the surfacing of insulating walls each comprisinga sheet metal shell of rectangular form having side walls and a base, asheet of preformed insulating material cementitiously secured in theshell with the outer face thereof substantially flush with the edges ofthe side walls, the shells being of several sizes in multiple of aminimum size and each having portionsof the side walls outpressed toform lugs, the spacing of which is such that blocks of different sizesmay be laid in contact one with the other with the lugs on each of theblocks in engagement with the lugs on the contiguous blocks to therebyprovide a uniform spacing therebetween for a cementitious material, and.an adhesive material on the exposed face of the insulating element forsecuring the blocks in place on the wall with the metal presented toview.

4. A series of insulating blocks for the surfacing of building walls,each comprising a sheet metal shell having a base of desired peripheralform and integral side walls providing a shell open on One side, a sheetof preformed insulating material cementitiously secured in the shellwith the outer face thereof substantially flush with the edges of theside walls, the side Walls of each of the blocks being out-pressed toform lugs, the spacing of which is such that blocks of different sizesmay be laid in contact with the lugs of contiguous blocks to provide auniform spacing thereof for cementitious material,

